Cloth inspection unit



April 24, 1962 J. R. MAYS CLOTH INSPECTION UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 16, 1960 INVENTOR efamea Amy:

Y- [ATTORNEYS April 1962 J. R. MAYS 3,030,689

CLOTH INSPECTION UNIT Filed June 16, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ea mva%%d'y BY Q ATTORNEY$ ited States atent fice 3,030,689 CLOTH INSPECTION UNIT James R. Mays, 5710 Wissahickon Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. Filed June 16, 1960, Ser. No. 36,541 3 Claims. (CI. 26-70) The present invention relates to inspection devices for cloth and the like.

A purpose of the invention is to permit more convenient and reliable inspection of cloth for small holes of the character of pin holes and other imperfections.

A further purpose is to avoid the presence of wrinkles in cloth which is being inspected.

A further purpose is to facilitate the positioning of cloth for inspection in a manner which will feed the cloth forward without producing wrinkles.

A further purpose is to cause separation of the sides of pin hole and similar openings so that they can be observed during inspection.

A further purpose is to provide hospital cloth which will be more reliably safe against bacterial and mycological contamination.

Further purposes appear in the specification and in the claims.

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the device of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a section of FIGURE 1 on the line 2-2.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged diagrammatic view corresponding to a fragment of FIGURE 2.

Describing in illustration but not in limitation and referring to the drawings:

There have been a number of serious cases of infection in hospitals particularly traceable to staphylococci, which have for example caused airborne infection in operating rooms and delivery rooms.

Many of these cases have been mysterious because very elabtorate precautions were being taken in the operating room itself, and infection occurred notwithstanding this.

It has been discovered that a major source of this difficulty is the presence of pin hole openings in hospital textile fabrics and rubber and plastic sheets. One cause of difficulty is the presence of such openings in the laparotomy sheet which is employed at the actual location adjoining the operative incision. Another source of difficulty is the presence of such pin holes or other small openings in the wrapper which surrounds the surgical dressing, surgical instrument, blanket, sheet or the like when it is autoclaved to sterlize it, and when it is put away for storage to await subsequent use.

With a view to overcoming these difficulties, very tedious inspection procedures are being employed to make sure that laparotomy sheets, sterilizing wrappers, and other hospital linen and hospital cloth are free from openings, tears and the like which may admit airborne infection.

The present invention is designed to improved the quality of inspecton of hospital linen and cloth generally and of cloth and sheet material of various characters which similarly requires inspection.

The invention also relieves the tedium of making such inspections and reduces the labor.

In accordance with the invention the cloth or the like to be inspected is stretched over a convex transparent inspection surface and progressed forward under the control of the operator, while being subjected to a suitable light. This procedure tends to maintain the cloth spread out and free from wrinkles and also tends to cause the parting of the walls of pin holes and the like so that any defect will show up clearly.

A power driven feed roll is provided and separate clamping rolls act against the feed roll so as to allow for difference in thickness at different positions along the cloth and also to allow for clamping opposite edges and the middle at different times.

Considering now the drawings in detail, I provide a transparent inspection surface 20 suitably of glass or transparent plastic such as methyl methacrylate, which is mounted in a frame 21 and has in vertical cross section a convex contour, as best seen in FIGURE 2. The inspection surface 20 is desirably disposed at an angle to the vertical which is of the order of 40 to 60 degrees.

The frame 21 which mounts the transparent inspection surface is suitably hinged at the bottom at 22 on the inclined front opening of a supporting illuminator box 23, and rests at 24 against the top of the box.

Extending diagonally through the illuminator box is an illuminator frame 25 having a plurality of sockets 26 which mount a bank of electric lamps, suitably fluorescent lamps 27.

The space 28 in the illuminator box can be used for auxiliary equipment such as starting transformers (not shown) as desired.

Extending across in prolongation of the top of the in spection surface 20 is a horizontal feed roll 30 turning on suitable bearings on a drive shaft 31 which is driven in a direction to advance the cloth lying on the inspection surface, by an electric drive, not shown.

Positioned at intervals along the feed roll 30 are clamping rolls 32, one above each side and one or more at the middle, the clamping rolls being free to idle and pivotally mount in hangers 33 which are pivotally connected at 34 on the lower ends of rockers 35 which are keyed or otherwise secured on separate shafts 36 pivoted and sliding in slotted blocks 37 mounted on frame elements 38 connected to the sides of the illuminator box.

Extending through slots 40 in the top of the frame are handles 41 which permit turning the individual shafts 36. The shafts 36 are preferably sufficiently tight in the slotted blocks 37 so that they will remain in raised or lowered position as desired due to frictional engagement.

Pivoted above the upper end of the inspection surface 21 on the frame 38 is a cross shaft 42 which has secured thereon a guard 43. The bearing engagement of the shaft at the ends in the frame is sufficiently tight so that the guard will remain raised as shown at 44 in FIGURE 2 to thread the machine, or can be pushed down as suggested by the arrows 45. When the guard moves to the position shown at 46, it encounters the operating plunger of double throw switch 47 and starts the electric drive of roll 30, but if it is desired to shut off the drive it is merely necessary to push the guard forward to the position shown at 48 when the double throw switch 47 disconnects the electric drive. The switch plunger is biased toward retracting as well known.

On the frame 21 at the opposite ends are provided.

brackets 50 which have circular openings 51 which receive and tightly frictionally fit circular mounting discs 52 having handles 53. Eccentiically pivotally mounted with a tight friction fit at 54 in the discs are circular body portions 55 of a brush 56 whose bristles extend downward toward and engage the top of the cloth which is carried across the inspection surface. It will be evident that by turning the discs 52 and rotating the brush 56 it is possible to increase or reduce the pressure of the brush against the cloth since, there is adequate frictional engagement at 51 and 54 to hold the brush in any desired position.

Adjacent the bottom of the inspection surface there is pay-out roll 57 mounted on an idler shaft 58 and adapted to unwind cloth for inspection. The idler shaft turns in slots 58' of the frame.

On underframe 60 of the device there are provided horizontally forwardly and rearwardly extending guides 61 which receive and support rails 62 on which is mounted a frame 63 which can slide to a position in front of the inspection device or be pushed out of the way beneath the inspection device.

The frame 63 has hooks 64 which are adapted to receive and support a laundry bag or the like from which individual small pieces of cloth can be Withdrawn for inspection.

In operating upon a roll of cloth (including rubber or plastic), the cloth is wound on roll 57; the roll fitting in pivot slots 58. The end of the cloth is then threaded under brush 56 and pulled up along the convex transparent inspection surface 20 under the influence of the light.

The initial short portion is inspected while being stretched by hand over the inspection surface against the light.

The guard is pulled out away from the rolls to position 44. The clamping rolls 32 are all raised by pushing back handles 41. The end of the roll of cloth is then carried over feed roll 30 at one side.

The user then lowers the clamping roll at that side so that it engages the top of the cloth against the feed roll. Using this as an anchorage the user then pulls the other side of the top of the cloth and stretches it over the feed roll until the cloth extends upwardly straight and free from wrinkles, and lowers the clamping roll at the other side. The user then lowers the clamping roll or clamping rolls in the middle by pulling on the appropriate handle or handles 41.

It will thus be evident that by means of the separate manipulation of the individual clamping rolls, it is pos sible for one person to engage the cloth over the feed roll, without requiring an operator at each side, since once clamping roll provides an anchorage for stretching the cloth.

Another advantage of the independent character of the different clamping rolls is that allowance is made for a difference in thickness of the cloth at different positions along the width, the clamping roll adjusting under its own weight to the proper thickness of the cloth that it encounters. This is particularly important in hospital linen, because for example, a laparotomy sheet normally has a hem in the middle and is therefore thicker in the middle than it is at the sides.

If the brush 56 is not properly pressing against the cloth, the pressure of the brush is adjusted by manipulating the eccentric adjustment shown in FIGURE 3.

The brush performs several functions which are important. It removes lint as the cloth advances, it smooths out wrinkles so that the cloth will advance free from Wrinkles, and it provides a controllable frictional drag which assures adequate tension so that the cloth will be properly stretched over the convex surface.

The stretching of the cloth over the convex surface is important because it assures that the cloth is close to the predetermined inspection surface, and it also assures that pin holes and the like in the cloth will open up and be readily disclosed. The presence of the convexity in the inspection surface also further aids in avoiding the presence of Wrinkles in the cloth.

The operator then pushes down on the guard 43, bringing it into the position 46 shown in solid lines in FIGURE 2, at which position the electric motor driving the feed roll 30 is connected and the feed roll travels forward. At any time the operator desires to stop the forward motion he simply pushes forward on the guard until it encounters the position 48. When the operator Wishes to start forward motion again he simply pulls the guard back to the position shown at 46 in FIG- URE 2.

In case the cloth being inspected is small, or is not wound on a roll, the operator pulls out the rack 63 and hangs a laundry bag or the like on the hooks 64, the cloth being contained in the bag. The cloth is then pulled up from the bag and threaded under the brush and carried across the inspection surface over the feed roll and under the clamping roll or rolls in the manner described, except that if the cloth is so narrow that it does not extend fully across the width of the inspection surface, it will be possible to inspect two separate cloths side by side in some cases. In this instance the independent clamping rolls permit separate insertion of the individual cloths.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention with out copying the structure shown, and I therefore claim all such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cloth inspection device, a convex, transparent inspection surface, illustration means behind the inspection surface, a driven feed roll positioned near the top of the inspection surface, a plurality of clamping rolls distributed along the feed roll and adapted to clamp the cloth against the feed roll, individual means for moving the different clamping rolls toward and away from the feed roll, and brush means acting on the cloth and pushin'g toward the inspection surface near the lower end of the inspection surface.

2. A device of claim 1, in combination with means for adjusting the position of the brush means toward and away from the inspection surface comprising eccentrical- 1y pivoted brush bodies within mounting discs.

3. A device of claim 1, in combination with swingable guard means and a switch responsive to the guard means for cutting off the drive of the feed roll.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 276,722 Shaw May 1, 1883 325,581 Wilson Sept. 1, 1885 1,272,924 Doran July 16, 1918 2,105,715 Birch Jan. 18, 1938 2,491,401 Tucker et a1. Dec. 13, 1949 2,626,535 Owen et a1. Jan. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Pa tent. NO. 3,030,689 April 24, 1962 James R. Mays It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 36, for "illustration" read lllumination Signed and sealed this 16th day of October 1962.

ISEAL) kttest:

ERNEST w. SWIDEH DAVID LADD Ltteating Officer Commissioner of Patents 

